Moto X Smartphone Stands Out Even Before Picking Custom Features

By Michelle Maisto

The Moto X isn’t made of glass or metal, but it doesn’t feel cheap. It’s a compact, solid little delight, and the first smartphone that users can customize from bottom to top. For those who think less is more, there’s this all-white model.

The Moto X features a 4.7-inch display. Some will be disappointed that it’s an HD 720p, and not a higher resolution. But many might be impressed that Motorola fit a display this size into a chassis this small. The HTC One has the same size display, but it measures 5.41 by 2.69 inches, while the Moto X measures 5.09 by 2.57 inches

Motorola went for the cleanest lines possible (which probably helps when switching out top and bottom panels, for customizing). The right side features just the volume rocker and the power button.

The back of this Moto X features a textured look, though it feels smooth (which is actually kind of unsatisfying). The dots beside the rear camera lens are the speaker. While the HTC One leaves no question about the best place to put a speaker (the front), the curve on the back of the Moto X prevents the speaker from laying flat on a surface.

The Moto X measures between 0.22 and 0.4 inches deep. The intention of its curve is to make it fit more comfortably in a user’s hand.

The other side of the smartphone contains only the SIM card slot.

Arguably the greatest thing about the Moto X is Touchless Control. A user can wake the sleeping phone with the prompt, “OK, Google Now,” and ask it just about anything Google can answer, as well as to do things like call someone or set the phone’s alarm.

Motorola’s Touchless Control is far from the first of its kind—in fact, three new Motorola-made Droids on the Verizon network offer the exact same technology—but it’s particularly appealing given how well it works. Though, on the first try, it did get “pastrami” wrong.

Just to be fair.

On the bottom of the display are three on-screen buttons—back, home and a stacked-apps sort of button that shows off everything you’ve opened recently for quick access back to it.

The camera can be activated with a quick double twist of the wrist—a fun feature. The camera itself, though, feels ordinary. However, taking photos (like this detail of a painting) I wondered whether it was the camera that was wanting or, after testing out other new smartphones, I’d just become accustomed to viewing my photos on more pixel-packed displays.

AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Best Buy will all sell the Moto X by summer’s end. The Moto X is a fast, responsive phone, and on AT&T’s 4G LTE network it’s possible to move between Web pages as quickly as between photos.